In modern life, mostly in office jobs, laboratory work etc. the majority of work is done sitting on a chair. Sitting for long periods of time is blamed for having several harmful effects on the human body, one major effect being various forms of back pain.
Walking has been suggested as a way of avoiding some of the above effects, being known for its ability to relieve back pain in many cases. However, since walking is not always possible during the work day, most people do not walk enough during a day to gain its benefit.
Some other activities are also known for their ability to relieve back pain such as: riding a horse especially at a walk gait, some dancing movements, swimming etc. Individuals may benefit from one activity better than from another. All of these activities induce motion to the pelvis and the vertebras and this is the trigger for their cure mechanism.
Several devices have been disclosed in order to either treat the symptoms of prolonged sitting or in order to prevent their occurrence in the first place:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,113,851 to Gamba discloses a chair with a ‘singing seat’ which is adapted to continuously swing and change the position of a person sitting thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,021 to Udo discloses a chair with an automatic seat adapted for cyclical inclination.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,575 to Harza discloses an apparatus for periodically lifting one hip of a seated person and then the other.
WO 2005/072564A1 discloses a sitting support and a sitting surface determined thereon.